SANTA CLARA, Calif. – David Maes scored six times for the Fresno Pacific men's water polo team on Friday morning, but it wasn't enough as the Sunbirds fell to #14 UC San Diego 17-10 at the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships at Sullivan Aquatics Center.
 
FPU falls to 9-19 overall on the season with the setback, while UCSD improves to 14-7 on the year. The Sunbirds move into the consolation bracket and will face Air Force at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. Meanwhile the Tritons, who are the three-time defending champion,  slide into the semifinal against Loyola Marymount.
 
"We had a tough draw playing the two seed in game one," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "I felt the guys put everything into it setting a positive tone for the weekend. UC San Diego's depth got the best of us in the end. David played a great game leading the charge in goals scored, and [Kyle] Eoff assisting him with that. I'm excited for tomorrow's game with Air Force."
 
The Sunbirds came out strong defensively, holding the high-powered UCSD attack to three scores in the opening quarter to trail 3-1 after the first. The Tritons followed with a 5-1 run to open the second quarter, however, to take control of the game. UCSD led 9-3 at the half and used a six-goal third period to run away with the win. FPU managed four goals in the final period to make the final 17-10.
 
Maes led all scorers with the six goals for the Sunbirds, which matched a season best for the senior. Taylor Heckathorn, Steven Kaufmann, Erik Brown and Jacob Fairchild rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece. Kyle Eoff facilitated the offense with four assists, while Dillon Robinson led the defense with 12 saves and three steals.
 
UCSD out-shot FPU 34-29 and capitalized on 3-of-5 man-up opportunities. Arman Momdzhyan and Skyler Munatones led the Tritons with four goals apiece.